Packaging Innovation is the key to meeting shifting consumer expectations

An industry rising to many challenges

Today’s e-commerce environment, where virtually any product can be sold online, throws up an incredible diversity of challenges and requirements. From easy and reliable processing and safe and secure transportation to sustainable logistics and delivering an outstanding consumer experience, the push and pull of who thinks what works best can quickly lead to bewilderment.

The fact that e-commerce packaging has morphed from unpackaging a bland, regular box to successful brands looking to up their creative game tells you all you need to know. Who would have thought the battle to win and retain customers would occur inside cardboard boxes?

Online retailers have quickly realised that they must understand what the customer cares about most to increase sales or maintain their current customers. It’s imperative from the offset to consider all the elements that ensure customers feel valued and get what they want from their experience.

Any significant consideration will likely lead brands to understand how critical it is to delight consumers with optimised e-commerce packaging. And when you consider that customers are not depending on you; rather, you are dependent on them, those who fail to listen by-and-large pay the price.

The problem is that it is tricky to envision success when it comes to packaging. It is even tougher to articulate your vision beforehand in a boardroom. But the fear of being left behind has cemented its place on many a business agenda – as a discussion point, at least.

The digital realm

Among non-negotiables like protecting the product, enhancing a customer’s experience demands increased attention. It is no longer just about the functional aspect of preserving the product throughout the e-commerce supply chain – it’s about creating anticipation, excitement, and satisfaction as the product reaches the consumer. As a result, more and more emphasis is being placed on the unboxing experience.

As digital screens and channels proliferate beyond recognition, most brands forget that their packaging is their most powerful media. Packaging that goes viral and gets shared

It also helps create a distinct and easily recognisable identity, communicates the value of a product, provides important information and sets consumer expectations of a product.

Analysts estimate that social commerce could be a $100 billion market by 2025, so meeting customers anytime, anywhere has quickly become a reality. You only have to look at TikTok’s new e-commerce platform, TikTok Shop, and how it enables creators to sign on to sell products directly from the platform to witness first-hand the ratcheting up of pressure to nail the unboxing experience.

Packaging’s role has evolved so much that we’ve even moved beyond unboxing. Videos of brands packing boxes have become a ‘thing’. Unboxing and boxing satisfy consumer curiosity and create the level of emotional connection that many brands chase.

Return of the pack

With the market for e-commerce goods changing drastically and growing faster than ever before, so too are the packaging methods and the customers’ values. E-commerce websites have become a prevalent choice for purchasing goods due to their convenience, which includes direct-to-home delivery and easy product searching. The popularity of social media and user-generated content have made them powerful tools, providing a platform for discovery, customer engagement and brand building.

However, alongside a rapidly growing e-commerce industry comes increased waste production and the logistical requirements for the millions of packages transported to customers regularly.

As a result, packaging that easily integrates reverse logistics helps with retention, minimises shipping costs, eliminates complexity and streamlines operations, is highly sought after.

The only constant is change. But understanding these changes is paramount. And that’s where checking in on the progress of over 400 exhibitors at February’s Packaging Innovations & Empack can prove invaluable.

Packaging will always need to be crafted to leave a lasting impression on consumers, and there are so many new ways to alter people’s perception of a brand and spark dialogue. That’s why it’s increasingly important to partner with a packaging supplier who can design tailored solutions that work in the supply chain and provide sustainable and fit-for-purpose packaging solutions.